Paracelsus (Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, 1493-1541): Essential Theoretical Writings (Aries Book Series) (Hardcover)

by Andrew Weeks (Editor)

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About the Author
Andrew Weeks, Professor of German at Illinois State University, with a doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Illinois, has published intellectual biographies of Jacob Boehme, Paracelsus, Valentin Weigel, a history of German mys

Product Details

• Hardcover: 975 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers (December 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004157565
• ISBN-13: 978-9004157569
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.6 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,948,927 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important, Translations into English, February 27, 2008

By	P. Nagy "revreader" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Paracelsus (Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, 1493-1541): Essential Theoretical Writings edited, introduced, translated by Andrew Weeks (Aries Book Series: Brill) The daunting writings of Paracelsus--the second largest 16th-century body of writings in German after Luther's--contributed to medicine, natural science, alchemy, philosophy, theology, and esoteric tradition. This volume provides a critical edition of essential writings from the authoritative 1589 Huser Paracelsus alongside new English translations and commentary on the sources and context of the full corpus. The Essential Theoretical Writings incorporate topics ranging from metaphyics, cosmology, faith, religious conflict, magic, gender, and education, to the processes of nature, disease and medication, female and male sufferings, and cures of body and soul. Properly contextualized, these treatises yield rich extracts of Renaissance and Reformation culture, soundings of 16th-century life, and keys to an influential but poorly understood early modern intellectual tradition. This work will supersede all other translations into English and lays an admirable foundation for future balanced and depth studies of Paracelsus.
Andrew Weeks is Professor of German at Illinois State University, with a doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Illinois, has published intellectual biographies of Jacob Boehme, Paracelsus, Valentin Weigel, a history of German mysticism, and translations of Weigel's writings. He is well qualified to help in the reform of this pivotal figure standing between tradition and the innovations of science.
Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus (1493-1541), was one of the most original and prolific authors of six­teenth-century Europe. Commonly remembered as an itinerate physimedical innovator, philosopher of nature, and alchemist, he was also a lay theologian, theorist of the supernatural, and rebel against institutions and traditions. In the course of the 1520s, he chal­lenged academic and urban authorities in Switzerland and South Ger­many by demanding medical reforms. Rebuffed by his opponents, he continued wandering for the remainder of his life, disseminating as an author, polemicist, and physician his understanding of medicine and nature. He died an obscure death in Salzburg, but before the end of the century his influence had spread, resulting in posthumous partisan controversies between advocates and detractors.